Trippin' with Susan Straley

I was up at 4:45 because I was keyed up about beating the heat on my cycling trip home.  I would be riding from Tarpon Springs to Inverness, a ride of over 80 miles.  It had been a few years since I had ridden that far, I was a bit nervous. It was predicted to be 95 degrees, humid, and sunny on Sunday.  I packed two thermoses of ice water, a bottle of Gatorade, and a baggie with salty pretzels and nuts.  If I am smart and keep re-filling my waters, I should be ok. My neck had stopped hurting during my day of rest.  I had bought a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and was swishing it around my chipped tooth two and three times a day.  It had done the trick! Sunday morning is a good time to travel by bike.  The traffic is lighter because many sleep in or sit in church pews. I assembled my things and got them all packed on the bike and was riding by 5:30 in the dark.  I was glad I had packed my front light and a flashing back light because it was very dark when I departed Ellen's ho

So last night, here I was, exhausted, comfortably sitting on a balcony overlooking the beach.  Enjoying the sunset and sharing a picture on Facebook.   When I noticed that it hurt to swallow. A pain above my Adam's apple. Before I left I had started getting some pains in my neck and I suspected it was from a tooth that had chipped while I was in the Netherlands.  It was a back molar with a large filling and the whole side of the tooth had fallen off. I have an appointment with my dentist set for the end of July.  I thought, since I had not felt pain, I was ok to wait a couple months to see the dentist about it.  Just before I left I tried to get in, but it was near the 4th of July and my dentist was off for the week.  I went to the walk in clinic and asked for antibiotics to combate the infection if I needed it on this trip. I got some and I am carrying them with me.  I don't want to take them. We all have heard about the damage to the gut bacteria that can be caused by